Florida (Short Term) (FLO-1217 ST)

This position is not currently available

An able and experienced educator is required for a short-term fill-in assignment while a long-term tutor is found for the role, although there is no reason why the fill-in role should not evolve into the long-term one. The position starts as soon as possible, and involves tutoring two girls (10 and 4) as well as elements of PA work. It will suit an energetic, inspiring and knowledgeable educator with a practical, grounded outlook and a proactive approach to problem-solving, and someone comfortable leading a fairly basic lifestyle, in touch with nature and often in fairly isolated locations.

Students

There are two students, aged 10, and 4. Both girls have been home-schooled by
their mother, but there has been a recent change in the family’s circumstances and it is clear to all parties
that this arrangement is no longer working well. The family are keen to maintain their quality of life and
remain in their rural location, hence the need to appoint an education specialist.

The eldest is an avid reader. She is more than happy to lose herself in a book for hours at a time, and her
general fluency and comprehension are broadly comparable with the norms expected of children of her
age. Her maths skills however are lagging behind. She has been working through a series of school
books aimed at her grade, but there has been little feedback on her performance and as a consequence,
she has a shaky understanding of some of the key standards and concepts. She is aware that she has
shortfalls in this area, and that is contributing to her sense of frustration with the subject. That said, she
is a very bright child and wants to do well. When concepts are fully explained to her, she picks them up
quickly and is able to apply them competently with a little practice. She will benefit from working with a
patient Tutor who can help her establish stronger numerical foundations to bring these in line with her
reading, and develop her scientific understanding and analytic skills.

She is a mature and capable young lady, who is remarkably self-sufficient, at ease in her rural homes,
and is both helpful and kind. Both girls have been encouraged to try a range of experiences
such as flower pressing. She would like to try leather tanning and learn other crafts. She has a keen
interest in the development of underground railroads, is fascinated by the history and lives of American
slaves and the tales of World War II survivors, especially those from Germany. She is learning the guitar and she also has an entrepreneurial spirit. Indeed, she wants to craft a range of products for sale at
the local country fair next summer, which offers an excellent opportunity to develop financial literacy.

Like her sister, the younger girl is an intelligent and eager young lady, with the curiosity about the world typical of an
adventurous and energetic four-year-old. She is quite far behind age-group expectations in terms of
letter recognition, reading and in her understanding of both numbers and number bonds. There is clearly
work to be done to get her up to speed and ensure that she is appropriately engaged.

The family have a number of houses, but predominantly in Florida and Maine, and have not yet
established any of these as their main base, but is likely that either their woodland property in central
Florida or their home in Sarasota will take on this role.

The family home in central Florida was badly damaged by Hurricane Irma, and they have been staying in a
fairly basic temporary home their while repair works are undertaken. They are fortunate enough to have
their maternal grandmother living close by – her house escaped the hurricane relatively unscathed.
Despite the upheaval involved in home renovations, the two girls are clearly very happy and well-balanced
individuals. Their mother is not keen on electronic devices such as iPads and TVs, but the girls don’t seem
to miss them. They will likely have to increase their exposure to electronics as they go through schooling,
but this should be done without detrimentally affecting their current balanced lifestyle.

Role of the Tutor

The family are looking for an individual to take on two distinct roles. The first role is that of a Tutor. This
role is expansive and far-reaching, covering a wide range of subjects and skills that extend from maths to
music, and arts to languages. The appointed candidate will be well-educated, intelligent, well-travelled,
responsible, practical, and down-to-earth. They will have a wide range of personal interests and a sense
of fun and adventure that they can bring to the role.

The plan is for the girls to ultimately attend university, either in the US or the UK. However, at
this point there has been no meaningful discussion about which pathway the family should follow. What
is clear though is that any curriculum they do follow should keep all doors firmly open. It may be that at
14, the older girl opts to study the GCSE program with a view to attending an IB boarding school from 16
onwards. The alternative is that she begins some NUVHS guided courses following a US curriculum.
However, the girls’ mother is keen that the Tutor does not simply rely on an online course for their
teaching. The younger girl would do very well on the UK Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum or a US
equivalent. Whatever pathway is selected, it will be essential for the Tutor to maintain meticulous, up-to-
date records of achievement for both children across all their subjects.

While all concerned agree that full-time private tutoring offers the very best education, they are also
aware that it can be relatively isolating if not sensitively and thoughtfully handled. It is imperative that
the Tutor helps the children to develop and maintain social opportunities. For example, there are a
number of other children living nearby who could be encouraged to join the girls in a book club, a mini-
choir or dramatic society, or another sort of structured social setting. To this end, it would be helpful if
the Tutor had the ability to read music, and had experience playing an instrument, be it guitar,
woodwind, piano or another instrument.

The ideal Tutor will have themselves received a good education. They will speak a second language
(preferably either French or Japanese) and will have the experience to design and deliver lessons that
engage, inspire and enthuse the girls. Home schooling affords all sorts of opportunities to take the
lessons outside the classroom, and it is envisaged that the Tutor will make the most of their environment
to plan creative lessons. There is also the opportunity to deviate from traditional subjects and introduce
lessons on topics as diverse as photography, astronomy, meteorology, geology and so on. It is
anticipated that the Tutor will use project-based learning as their main means of delivering lessons. The
Tutor should be prepared to bring their enthusiasm for every aspect of learning to this role and help to
inspire in the girls a real sense of curiosity about their world, all the while giving them the tools to explore
and analyse it themselves.

Given the amount of time that the children will receive individual tutoring each day, there should rarely
be the need for homework. Homework should only be given if a particular skill needs to be practiced, or
some background reading is needed. On no occasion should it be necessary to give homework that
includes unnecessary repetition or busy work. While their mother subscribes to the view that exams
should be the by-product of a good education rather than its driving force, it is still important for the
children to develop good study habits including revision techniques, self-study, self-testing, and of course
exam preparation.

This short-term role will provide the solid foundations for a long-term Tutor starting as soon as the ideal
candidate is identified and is free to start. This means that the short-term Tutor will be required to
undertake much of the set-up work – sourcing equipment and resources for the school room, instigating
time tables and helping the girls get used to a more formal education than they have experienced to
date. There will be a dedicated schoolroom in all locations; the Tutor will be responsible for ensuring that
it is organised and properly stocked. The Tutor will also need to be responsible for packing and moving
any teaching materials they wish to take between locations or use during any periods of travel. If the
short-term Tutor is not continuing in the long-term position, part of their role will also be the creation of
hand-over documents for the new Tutor in September 2018.

This tutoring role has enormous potential. Once the Tutor has successfully established a school
environment for the two girls, there is talk that the home schooling element could be expanded to
include more of the local children. Over the course of several years, it may be that the home school
grows into more of a community education hub with several tutors working together to serve the needs
of the local children as either a not-for-profit entity or philanthropic legacy. These plans are secondary to
the education success of the girls, but the Tutor should be aware that the work they put in to
this initial role will serve as the basis for future expansion plans, and so it is critical that they are able to
devote their whole attention to this project in the short-term.

The second distinct aspect of this role is that of Personal Assistant / Project Manager for the family. In
their current domestic situation, the girls’ mother has competing demands on her attention, and she is
aware that she is not staying on top of everything. By capitalising on the Tutor’s organisational skills, it is
hoped that she can improve her control of these matters. The key issue at the moment is the rebuilding
project for the family home. The Tutor will need to be part PA and part Project Manager – she or he
should be very efficient and organised, able to guide decision-making and keep track of any suppliers or
contractors. They will need to have a head for detail and be able to balance competing demands on their
attention. Given there is a construction project in the works, it would be helpful if the Tutor were
familiar with American building systems, standards and regulations. At the very least, the Tutor will need
to be able to very quickly learn how to work within the constraints of a variety of different industries,
building key contacts and maintaining good working relationships as the months go by.

In more general terms, in their PA role the Tutor would be expected to help manage the family’s day-to-
day matters such as finding activities for the children, building relationships within the local community,
ensuring the kitchen is well stocked and the household tasks well managed and so on.

In both roles, the Tutor will need to be proactive, resourceful and creative. They must be a qualified
teacher and hold a good degree from a well-regarded university. They should be prepared to integrate
with the family and help out with little jobs around the place. The Tutor should be self-sufficient and prepared to live in a beautiful
but relatively isolated and quiet community if the family choose to
settle in the central Florida home (near Ocala).

Hours and holidays

The Tutor will typically work with the girls for about 30 hours over 5 days each week, usually Monday -
Friday, with preparation in addition. The PA elements of this role are expected to take an additional 15
hours each week, resulting in a rough 1:2 division between PA and tutoring work. The Tutor should be
aware that this is a flexible arrangement – some weeks there will be a heavier weighting to their role as a
PA, some weeks they will be mainly tutoring.

With regards to the tutoring, a timetable must be established with reference to the any extracurricular
activities and travel arrangements, and to be flexible enough to accommodate unexpected changes. This
timetable should provide stability and routine for the students, but be adaptable enough to incorporate
changes in the family’s plans, or any learning opportunities outside the classroom.

The Tutor is entitled to two consecutive days off per week, but should not expect these to occur at
weekends or to be regular in their timing. As far as possible the Client will try to give the Tutor at least
two weeks’ notice of when their ‘weekend’ break will be, but the Tutor will need to understand this is
not always possible. The standard minimum 9 weeks (45 working days) of paid vacation allowance
applies to this contract, with these breaks being taken at times convenient to the Client.

Any untaken vacation allowance or untaken weekend days that have accrued will be compensated by
payment in lieu at a pro-rated day rate.

Accommodation, Travel and Miscellaneous

The Tutor will be provided with furnished accommodation in all locations; in some of these locations this
accommodation may be quite basic. The rent, utilities and Internet on this accommodation will be
arranged and paid for by the Client. The Client is not responsible for the Tutor’s personal phone bills and
data usage.

When travelling, accommodation will vary. In some locations, the Tutor might ‘live-in’ with the family,
and other locations where the Tutor will have their own hotel room. The Client will always be mindful
that the Tutor is a professional adult and should have appropriate privacy as far as possible.

If the Tutor does not already have one, a car will be provided for the Tutor to do local errands and
shopping as well as taking the children to various extracurricular activities. The Tutor will be reimbursed
for all local public transport and any travels costs incurred while travelling with the family. The Client is
not responsible for the costs of personal travel when the Tutor is taking paid vacation beyond the
requirements regarding flights and airport transfers to the Tutor’s place of normal residence as set out in
the Terms.

The successful candidate will be able to offer more than the minimum requirements of this position and
will need to have been raised in a socially appropriate background. He or she will not only be an
excellent educator, but also a good role model: educated and polished, with excellent manners and
personal values.